If you start feeling shoulder pain when you’re working with your hands over your head, it’s a sign you should stop and rest. Shoulder tendinitis often happens during this type of activity, for instance, swimming, throwing sports like baseball or home maintenance projects. Athletes and people with certain jobs like painters and assembly workers are more likely to develop shoulder tendinitis.
Tendinitis is the irritation and inflammation of tendons, which are strong rope-like tissue that attach muscles to bones. Most cases of tendinitis are a result of overuse or repetitive movements, although a traumatic injury can also cause tendinitis. Overworking a tendon causes tiny tears to form, which leads to soreness and stiffness from scar tissue.
Often, mild cases of shoulder tendinitis go away on their own. After resting your shoulder for a few days, stretching and strengthening exercises can help you condition it to start moving with less pain and prevent your tendinitis from coming back. If your pain is intense or it doesn’t go away within a week, you should see a physical therapist.
This article discusses when and how you should exercise with shoulder tendinitis, and it lists 11 exercises you can use to rehabilitate your shoulder.
Should I exercise with shoulder tendinitis?
While your shoulder is hurting, you shouldn’t do any type of exercise that makes your pain worse. You might notice more pain when you perform certain movements with your arms raised. Once you’ve gone a few days without shoulder pain, you can start to do gentle exercises to get your shoulder moving again. Start with the stretching exercises in this article, and then start adding the strengthening exercises. When you can do them all without pain, gradually start increasing your level of activity. Anytime you do activities that could potentially irritate your shoulder, use these exercises to warm up.
11 exercises our PTs recommend for shoulder tendinitis
There are two different types of tendons in your shoulder joint that can become inflamed: tendons in your rotator cuff and the biceps tendon. These rehabilitation exercises are designed to elongate and strengthen the muscles attached to these tendons. They’ll correct any imbalances and gently work the fibers of your shoulder tendons to restore healthy movement.
Therapeutic stretches
It can be hard to sit on the sidelines while your shoulder is healing. However, continuing to overuse your shoulder can make your injury worse and extend your recovery time. Stretching the muscles and tendons in your shoulder ultimately takes the strain off them so they can heal properly.
Try the following therapeutic stretches to reduce stiffness and restore movement in your shoulder:
- Pendulums — Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and lean forward, dangling your affected arm so it hangs straight down. Without using your arm, lead with your shoulder to move your arm in small circles. Gradually make larger circles, and then start over, going in the opposite direction.
- Crossover arm stretch — Cross your affected arm across your chest and bend your other arm at the elbow to hold it in place. You should feel the stretch in the back of your shoulder.
- Passive external rotation — Stand in a doorway with your elbow at a 90-degree angle and grab the doorframe. Gently turn away from your arm until you feel a stretch in the front of your shoulder.
- Passive internal rotation — Hold the affected hand behind your back and grasp it with the other hand with your palms facing out. Gently pull your hand upward with the other hand until you feel a stretch in the front of your shoulder.
- Supine passive arm elevation — For this exercise, you’ll need a stick like a broom or a yardstick. Lie down on your back and grip the stick with both hands, holding it at your waist with your palms facing down. Keep your arms extended as you guide the stick up over your head, using your stronger arm to do most of the work. Slowly and with control, lower it back down.
Strengthening exercises
Before you can start using your shoulder for work or play, you should gently exercise it to rebuild your strength. For the exercises in this section, you’ll need a resistance band. A loop-shaped band will work, or you can use a straight band and tie the ends together when needed. If you can’t find a good place to hold the band steady, most of these can be done with a free weight or a household item like a can of soup.
Use these strengthening exercises to create balance in your shoulder muscles and rehabilitate them:
- Standing row — Loop the band around a pole or something sturdy so you’re grasping the ends in each hand. Begin with your arms straight, holding the band taut. Slowly bend your elbows to pull the ends toward you, and slowly release them. Start with a small number of reps and then gradually increase as you start to feel stronger.
- External rotation — Loop the band around something stable like a doorknob. Stand with your empty hand closest to the door so you can pull the band outward with the affected hand. Keep your elbow bent at a 90-degree angle as you pull the band out to your side and relax it back to starting position. Do several reps and increase them as you strengthen your shoulder.
- Internal rotation — Similarly to the previous exercise, you’ll loop one end of your exercise band around a doorknob. This time you’ll start with the affected hand closest to the door so you can pull the band forward and across your body with that hand. Do as many reps as you can without hurting your shoulder.
- Biceps curl — Stand with one foot on the band and grasp it with the affected hand so there’s just a bit of resistance when you curl your arm toward you. Slowly curl your arm and release it with control for as many reps as you can do before your shoulder starts to hurt.
- Trapezius lifts — Start on all fours or lean on a bench with the hand and knee opposite your affected arm. Hold the band down with the opposite hand and keep the affected arm straight as you pull the band out, turning your hand so your thumb is facing up when it reaches shoulder height. Bring it back down with control and repeat.
- Trapezius abduction — Lie face down on a raised surface such as a bed and fasten one end of the band underneath it. Your affected arm should hang off the side of the bed, holding the end of the band. Keep your arm straight and pull the band outward until it’s shoulder height; then release it down for one rep and repeat.
Get a personalized treatment plan for shoulder tendinitis at Panther PT
Some of these exercises might be too painful at first. Start with a bit of stretching, and when you start to add strengthening exercises, you can start without any resistance. Be sure to rest your shoulder for as long as you need to before using it again.
You can use NSAID pain relievers and the RICE method to help manage your pain and inflammation while your shoulder heals: rest, ice, compression and elevation. If you can’t get through the day without shoulder pain, or if it comes back frequently, you should see a physical therapist.
Each shoulder injury is unique. Sometimes people with shoulder tendinitis can benefit from physical therapy treatments like manual therapy and joint mobilization. These are techniques your physical therapist performs with their hands to get stiff tissue moving. They increase circulation in the affected area and promote healing. At Panther Physical Therapy, we start each new patient relationship with a thorough assessment. Based on your pain and your ability to move your shoulder, your PT will create a personalized treatment plan. Your PT may recommend the treatments mentioned here as well as specific therapeutic stretches, exercises, lifestyle adjustments and other physical therapy treatments.
Are you looking for a physical therapist who can help you with shoulder tendinitis? Call us or request an appointment today.